MPH Practicum in Nutritional Sciences

All MPH students in Nutritional Sciences must complete a practicum as required by the School of Public Health.

Nutritional Sciences Practicum Faculty Advisor

Anne Lund, MPH, RD
324 Raitt Hall
AEL4@uw.edu

School of Public Health - Office of Student Affairs

MPH Practicum Program
F350 Health Sciences, Box 357230
mphprac@uw.edu

Student Learning Objectives:

By the end of this practicum, the student will be able to:

Describe in detail the mission and unique contribution to the public health of the practicum's sponsoring agency or organization.

Demonstrate collaborative working skills and teamwork with the community based partners as assessed by the practicum supervisor.

Present a scientific poster that communicates the objectives, scientific methods, results, and the important conclusions from the practicum experience. Students ahve the flexibility to address only the elements of this objective that are relevant to the their practicum.

Practicum settings

The placements should be representative of the kinds of work settings in which MPH students might be employed in their professional
careers. These might include local, state or federal public health agencies, or non-governmental agencies engaged in health promotion or policy development.

The site enables the student to develop further and apply specific skills or competencies learned in the academic program (e.g., assessment, program planning, evaluation, management, data analysis, policy development, etc.)

The site provides a supervisor who is willing and able to spend regularly scheduled time with the student and provide guidance.
In addition, the site supervisor should have a population health perspective.

The site should afford the student regular/daily contact with public health practitioners.

The site supervisor exhibits a willingness to gradually increase student responsibility and independence over the duration of the practicum experience.

The site exhibits a willingness to provide support, ranging from a desk and a phone, to stipends or salary, transportation and lodging.

The site is a good match with the needs of the student.

The site offers a uniquely valuable experience.

Credits and Time Commitment

The Nutritional Sciences MPH program was approved with a practicum requirement of at least 240 hours working in the field under the supervision of a qualified professional. In addition students spend 80 hours preparing for the experience by reviewing documents and literature and completing an Organizational Profile and Analysis. The Organizational Profile and Analysis is part of the SPH Student Written Assignment. In total MPH Nutrition students will complete 320 hours of work (6 credits) on their practicum.

MPH Nutrition Students (Not in GCPD)

Complete the practicum any time after the first year of courses (see Preparation below).

Register for 6 credits of NUTR 595.

The practicum (and credits) can be completed during a single quarter or spread over multiple quarters.

GCPD MPH Nutrition Students

Complete the practicum during the Practice Experience (PE, 2nd year), registering for credit through NUTR 561.

Preparation

Students should not begin a practicum before completing at least three quarters of academic work. Before the practicum students need to acquire some understanding of the core functions of public health – assessment, policy development and assurance, basic analytical skills in epidemiology and biostatistics, and master core concepts of the science of nutrition.

Coordination and Timeline

The Nutritional Sciences Practicum Faculty Advisor will assist students in identifying potential practicum sites. All communication between the Nutritional Sciences Program and the Practicum Site should be directed to the Faculty Advisor.

Students will attend the MPH-Nutrition Practicum Session during Autumn quarter, annually until they have presented at this session.

Before pursuing a practicum project, students will arrange a time to meet one-on-one with the Nutritional Sciences Practicum Faculty Advisor (Anne Lund) to discuss their practicum placement. Since students must complete 3 quarters of course work before beginning the practicum, this meeting will be during the spring quarter of the first year at the earliest. GCPD students meetings will be scheduled in the fall of the second year.

Before collecting your site supervisors signature, email your learning contract to Nutritional Sciences Practicum Faculty Advisor for approval of the scope and nature of the project. The Faculty Advisor will modify (as necessary) and return it to you.

Once the SPH-MPH Practicum Program receives your completed MPH Practicum Learning Contract, they will check if there is a current Education Affiliation Agreement with the practicum site. If not, one will be initiated. This contract may take a few weeks and must be in place before you start at the facility.

Submit the SPH Site Supervisor Evaluation Form, Student Written Assignment and a draft of your Power Point Poster to Anne for grading. Students not completing all aspects of the practicum during the quarter they register for credits will receive an incomplete until the work is finished.

Once approved, submit Site Supervisor Evaluation Form, the Student Written Assignment and the finalPower Point Poster to the SPH - MPH Practicum Dropbox.

Present at the MPH-Nutrition Practicum Session the following Autumn quarter.

The Nutritional Sciences Graduate Student Services Coordinator is responsible for reviewing student files to make sure all necessary administrative requirements are complete and providing the SPH-MPH Practicum Program with all necessary student information for data entry into the practicum database.

Serving as point of contact for agencies interested in mentoring students.

Practicum Relationship to Thesis Research

A field experience could serve as the basis for both the practicum and a thesis. However, neither requirement should be diluted simply to allow them to be combined. A field setting could suggest a line of research that might lead to a thesis topic, or begin the process, but combining the practicum and a thesis is neither required nor expected.

Updated October 3, 2014

Announcements

Please join us for our Winter 2015 seminar series that will examine critical issues in global nutrition, such as malnutrition, hidden hunger, and dual burden of disease, focusing on food justice and the right to food both in Seattle–King County and globally. The seminar is open to all UW faculty, staff, and students. Seminar Schedule

Faculty Postions Available The Nutritional Sciences Program and Department of Health Services are accepting applications to fill positions at the rank of Assistant Professor or Associate Professor (WOT). Position Announcement & Application Instructions